Nordic people prioritise closer defence cooperation

“I wish that we stand together in the Nordic countries as the world has become strange”, said one of 3,202 Nordic people interviewed in August and September about Nordic cooperation.

The quote was highlighted in the presentation of a new Nordic survey to the public on Tuesday (31 October) in relation to the Nordic Council’s yearly session. It showed that security and defence issues overall are the number one reason for people in the five Nordic countries to want cooperation.

Overall 31 percent of the respondents pointed out security and defence as the most important issue for Nordic cooperation – while a similar study in 2008 instead showed that “fighting international crime” was the most important area for cooperation. A lot has happened in the world since then. Today Britain is about to leave the EU, China is ever-strengthening its global position and the United States increasingly focuses on US interests. Also the threat picture in Europe has become more complex, political polarisation is increasing and many people perceive the developments in Russia as worrying…